Looking back at the vast list of influential authors Cambridge University Press has published over the course of its long history—Isaac Newton, John Milton, Albert Einstein—one in particular stands out: Charles Darwin, the Cambridge-educated naturalist who dedicated his life to proving that all species of life have evolved over time from common ancestors. Darwin's subject provides an apt lens through which to view the evolution of an institution that began when an association of scholars left Oxford after a dispute with local townsfolk, and has grown to include a diverse and modern publishing arm. In 1534, when King Henry VIII granted Cambridge University a royal charter to print “all manner of books,” he hardly could have imagined a time when Cambridge University Press would disseminate works by some 33,000 authors from 120 different countries and be marketing and distributing print and electronic material to readers around the world.
Even in his 30 years at Cambridge, Richard L. Ziemacki, president of the Americas division and a Cambridge graduate himself, has seen momentous developments at the press as it grew from “a very small organization” to “a very big operation indeed, a substantial component of a global business. We're very internationally oriented and not just focused on the U.S.,” Ziemacki said. However, the U.S. is a cornerstone of Cambridge's business, both from a financial standpoint and an editorial one. As CUP chief executive Stephen Bourne explained, roughly half of Cambridge's business is now conducted in U.S. dollars (about $350 million annually), and “it's our view that that is something that's going to develop further.”
Cambridge's home base is still rooted in Britain (and pounds sterling), but Bourne said the company has set out to build a market centered around the U.S. dollar because “we think that will become the world's currency of last resort, as it's proving to be in this recessionary period.” The U.S. also plays a significant role in determining Cambridge's editorial focus. The publisher's specialty is English-language publications, and while Central and South American markets have traditionally been aligned to American English (and not British English), Cambridge is increasingly finding that the old English colonies and Asia are demanding American English materials, too, which “suits us very well,” said Bourne.
Being known for publishing in a subject area that is “the most sought-after in the educational world” offers enormous opportunities to pursue new markets, said Bourne. The Asia Pacific market has evolved into Cambridge's highest growth area, but the press is concentrating on smaller markets as well, like the Arab and African markets. Bourne said Cambridge continues to recall its origins, which were not scholarly, but rather emphasized teaching people the English language.
With such a long history, CUP has of course had its share of errors. “We have almost failed at various points in the past,” Bourne said. “We either overreached ourselves or moved away from our core ground, or we simply failed to get up-to-date with the times.” But Bourne believes in the Darwinian theory of learning from mistakes. The lesson learned: be known for a niche product that is in some way essential and unchangeable through the ages. “It's useful to remember those are the things that keep us going,” Bourne said.
CUP published its first book, Two Treatises of the Lord His Holie Supper in 1584, and the press celebrated its 425-year anniversary (which coincides with its 60th anniversary in North America and the 800th anniversary of the university itself) at a party July 16 at the New York Public Library. About 300 guests attended, including Bourne, all current staff from the press's New York office and West Nyack, N.Y., distribution center, retirees and some former Cambridge staff. Booksellers, printers, media and other publishers also attended.
Going forward, Ziemacki said Cambridge will continue to expand in digital publishing. While CUP's journals business is now predominantly online, the press is seeing a shift in that direction for books as well, especially in libraries' readiness to take on digital books. “We've gone an awful long way since the days in 1209 when two rough scholars left Oxford to set up a much more gentlemanly university in Cambridge,” said Bourne. Evolution, indeed.
